California Appellate Wins
California Water Service Co. v. Dow Chemical Co., 2008 WL 4851234 (N.D.Cal. October 30, 2008) (slip copy)
Our client, a water provider whose supply wells were contaminated by discharge from a chemical company, sued the chemical company in California state court. The chemical company removed the case to federal court, but the federal judge sent the case back to state court, finding that the claims were not all preempted by federal law and so could be tried in California state court.
Norris v. Crane Co., No. B196031, 2008 WL 638361 (Cal. App. 2 Dist. Mar 11, 2008) (unpublished).
The California appellate court affirmed the judgment in favor of our client, the widow of a Navy veteran who died of mesothelioma. The defendant did not make asbestos products itself, but it used asbestos components in its equipment.
Nelson v. Superior Court, 144 Cal.App.4th 689, 50 Cal.Rptr.3d 684 (Cal. App. 3 Dist. 2006).
The California appellate court ruled that our client, a water provider whose wells were contaminated with MTBE, could bring strict products liability claims against gasoline refiners even though the water provider was not the user or consumer of the MTBE-containing gasoline.
Results depend on the facts of each case.
